Road Transport Recollections Road Rollers

Early roads were constructed mainly by compacting small pieces of broken stone wither by hand or by horse-drawn roller. With the coming of the steam traction engine, it was Thomas Aveling who first invented the steam roller that we know today in 1867, which enabled the road surface to be better compacted and smoother. This became even more of a priority when the road surface was dressed with bitumen and stone chippings, and latterly with asphalt. Thomas Aveling, in partnership with Richard Porter, formed Aveling & Porter, the largest producer of steam rollers in the world, the 'Invicta' name and 'Prancing Horse' identifying their product. The basic design of the steam roller, with two large gear-driven smooth rear rollers and a steerable front roller mounted under a headstock attached to the front boiler, continued almost exclusively until it was superseded by the internal combustion engine. This book looks at the development of these vehicles.